Khaw - Electrical Breaks to delink NS and EW lines

By the end of November 2015, electrical breaks will be installed along the North-South (NS) and East-West (EW) lines so that a power fault on one line will not trigger a failure on the other. The electrical breaks will ensure that a simultaneous breakdown of the NS and EW lines, as happened on 7 July, can be avoided.

In a blog post yesterday (15 Oct), Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that the electrical breaks will be installed at Jurong East and Raffles Place Interchange stations. Under normal operations, these breaks will not be activated as Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT will want to continue to have the flexibility between the NS and EW lines. However, when the need arises, the two lines can be electrically disconnected.

Mr Khaw also mentioned the need to step up on maintenance of all lines to avoid any disruption is “active work in progress.”

This announcement comes after the joint exercise by LTA, SMRT and SBS to test rail contingency plans on Wednesday (14 Oct) as well as announced new contingency measures for future major network-wide rail disruptions.

What else can be done to reduce commuters’ inconvenience during disruptions?

Source:

“Electrical breaks to be installed at Jurong East and Raffles Place MRT stations to delink lines” (The Straits Times, 15 October 2015),

“Electrical breaks to help isolate faults on two rail lines” (TODAYOnline, 16 October 2015)